THE WALK OF THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER

A. THE BELIEVER IS TO WALK WORTHY OF HIS CALLING

-- { Ephesians 4:1-6 }  ¹ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.  -- NRSV

Breath Prayer For The Week (A "breath prayer" is a brief sentence or simple phrase that can be repeated often to Jesus in one breath.)

Jesus, help me walk worthy.

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

How is the follower of Jesus, the Christ, to live from day to day?  This is the question St. Paul answers in the next two and a half chapters.  We move from theology to ten practical lessons on living the Christian life.

Today we look at “The Believer Is To Walk Worthy Of His Calling.”  God has honored us as much as a creature can be honored.  He has seated us with Christ in the heavenlies to rule and reign with Him forever.  After such a great blessing how then are we to live out our lives?  

The reality is that we owe God so much that we could never even begin to pay Him back for His loving us.  Therefore, what can we do?  We can desire and strive to walk worthy of the calling we have received.  Paul shares with us about this walk.

First, the way to walk worthy (4:1-2)  “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Sometimes I wonder how seriously we take being a follower of Jesus.  Do we take Paul’s words here seriously?  What must we strive to do to please God as we live day by day…

Once a person becomes a follower of Jesus and trusts his life to Him there is more expected of Him.  The believer must walk with…

Living these characteristics brings honor to Jesus and His Church.

Second, the purpose for walking worthy: to keep the unity, the peace (4:3)  “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Paul’s words here might be surprising.  He is saying that the purpose for walking worthy is to promote unity in the Church.  Believers are to work hard at keeping peace amongst themselves.  This peace creates unity.  

Jesus has broken down all walls that divide peoples.  Everyone now can be part of God’s Forever Family: the poor, the rich, the black, the white, the red, the yellow, the Jew, the non-Jew.

Every person is precious in God’s sight and He desires that we live for Him a life of thanksgiving.  He desires that we all live in a spiritual bond of peace.  Believers do not walk in the Spirit at all times, however.  Often times we walk in what is called the “flesh” or way of the world.  We allow self and the old life to re-enter the picture:  

The result is disaster for the Church.  Peace is disturbed with division.  This is the reason Paul uses the words, “Make every effort” (spoudazontes) which means to endeavor, be diligent, work hard to take care to do the very best for God’s Church.  

The Church is a training ground for living together eternally.  We might as well start taking it seriously now and start maturing into the people God wants us to be.

Third, the seven basic reasons (4:4-6)  “There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Paul uses the number for perfection in the Bible, seven, to now state the seven reasons why we should walk worthy and strive to keep peace and unity within the Church.  

1. There is only “one body.”  Reality is that there is only one invisible Church known only to God.  In the world there are many visible church denomination known to humankind.
   
   God is creating only one body of people who trust and follow His Son.  He knows who these are because He knows their hearts.  When a person places their trust in Jesus, God does six things to the believer that place him into the body of Christ:

2. There is only “one Spirit.”  The same Spirit that dwells within one member of the Body dwells in all members of the Body.  In this case it isn’t opposites that attract but sameness that attracts.  The sameness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.

3. There is only “one hope.”  Every true believer has the same hope: the blessed day of redemption before God.  It is a day when by God’s power all differences melt away and we are truly one with Jesus.  Temptations are gone.  Sin is no more.  Sickness is non-existent.  All things are new.

4. There is only “one Lord.”  There is only on Master and King – Jesus.  Every believer has bowed before Jesus and accepted His purpose for their life.  We receive Jesus’ orders to…

5. There is only “one faith.”  There are not several faiths to choose from.  That is the broad way to destruction.  There is a narrow way, faith in Jesus, that leads into God’s presence.  This is Paul’s and our message to the world, “You need to get to know Jesus.  Your position eternity depends on it.”  

6. There is only “one baptism.”  All believers have been baptized into the Forever Family of God.  This is done by the authority of Jesus, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  All believers have this in common.  Our baptism unites us with God’s eternal family.

7. There is only “one God and Father of all.”  This is probably an early confession of faith.  

Paul is saying that there is only one God and Father of all believers.  Therefore, how could He be leading two believers to stand face to face against each other?  The answer is clear.  He couldn’t.  One or both believers are following their own fleshly sinful ways.  Someone is not following the Spirit of peace and will of God.

Heavenly Father, help us walk worthy of the calling we have received as followers of Your Son, Jesus.  Help us keep unity in the Church through the peace that You establish in our hearts.